


Red Riding Hood

by raphaelsantiagosavedhimself



Category: Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: F/F, First Meeting, Sort of AU, contains some violence, mily
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-04
Updated: 2016-06-04
Packaged: 2018-07-12 05:01:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7086448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raphaelsantiagosavedhimself/pseuds/raphaelsantiagosavedhimself
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A mysterious werewolf protects Lily from a werewolf attack</p>
            </blockquote>





	Red Riding Hood

**Author's Note:**

> Also posted on my tumblr

_Do not wander off the path_ , Raphael told her every time. _Under no circumstances do you wander off the path._

But she’d done it plenty of times before. She had her own path in her mind, a quicker way to pass through the forest. It had never failed her before. Of course, it wasn’t the risk of getting lost that was the problem. No one ever went through the forest during the full moon. Not even vampires risked the forest during the full moon. She had been stupid to do it.

Lily ran. She ran so fast the trees around her were a blur. She had to concentrate on dodging around them but had a few close calls. By the time she registered a tree in front of her, she had almost crashed into it. Her wicker basket bumped repeatedly against her leg. She had left her secret path long ago. Been chased from it. She had no idea if she was nearing the edge of the forest or running further into it.

She heard the pounding of powerful paws behind her and guessed there were at least three of them. Too many for her to fight on her own.

Lily screamed as she tripped on the hem of her cloak and fell into the dirt. Her basket flew out of her hand and landed several feet away. Her hands stung from where they scraped the ground and she was filthy. She pushed herself up onto her hands and knees and winced. She’d twisted her ankle in the fall. It would heal fast, but not fast enough.

The three wolves crashed through the underbrush and leapt into sight. Lily turned around and backed up on her hands and feet, but it only hurt her ankle more and prevented it from healing. The wolves advanced, snarling.

‘Come any closer and I’ll snap your necks,’ Lily warned.

The wolf in front lunged. Lily threw herself back down into the dirt and kicked out both feet, catching the wolf in the stomach and sending it crashing backwards into a tree trunk. Lily screamed at the pressure on her injured ankle. The wolf got gingerly to its feet and limped off through the trees, whining in pain.

Lily looked at the other two wolves. ‘I warned you. You want to fight me? Fine. An injured ankle isn’t going to stop me.’

The two wolves approached, their bodies low to the ground, their black eyes fixed on Lily. Lily unfastened the tie of her cloak and let it fall to the ground so it wouldn’t trip her up again, and then used the tree beside her to pull herself to her feet. She favoured her uninjured ankle, willing the other to heal faster.

The wolves circled her.

‘If I have to kill you, I will,’ Lily said, turning in an attempt to keep her eyes on both wolves at once. But one of them was always out of sight.

She could smell them. Their hot breath so close to her skin. Could feel their low growls vibrating through the air.

The wolf behind her leaped, its forepaws hitting her shoulder blades. She was once again thrown face down into the dirt. The wolf’s claws raked down her back and Lily screamed. She tried to push herself up on her elbows and throw the wolf off, but it kept pushing her back down. She kicked her legs but it did no good.

_I’m going to die here_ , Lily thought. _I should have listened to Raphael._

The wolf clawed her again. Lily took advantage of it precarious clutch on her by rearing up onto her knees and knocking the wolf off balance. Its claws dragged across her skin, tearing the back of her dress. The wolf rolled off to the side with an annoyed growl.

Lily tried to get to her feet but the second wolf pounced. This time she was thrown onto her back, her legs twisting painfully beneath her. She looked up into the wolf’s black eyes, its mouth open in a snarl, teeth bared.

Lily closed her eyes.

And then the wolf yelped and the pressure on her chest was gone.

She opened her eyes again and saw only the canopy of leaves high above. She heard snarling and snapping nearby. Her back was in agony where the wolf had attacked her and it screamed in pain when she forced herself to sit up and look around.

Two wolves were fighting, but one of them hadn’t been here before. It was smaller, with darker fur. It fought with a ferocity at odds with its size as it clawed and bit at the other wolf.

Lily stared around for the other wolf, but it had gone. It must have run away when the third wolf intervened.

The new wolf clawed at the other wolf’s face and then pounced on it. Both of them tumbled over sideways into a pile of dead leaves, claws and teeth flashing. Lily was sure the smaller wolf was going to lose. Miraculously, when the two wolves came to a halt, the smaller one was pinning the other to the ground.

The two wolves stared at each other for a long moment. If Lily had been in its position, she’d have killed the other wolf. But the wolf eventually let go of its opponent. The wolf got to its feet and scampered away into the trees, tail between its legs.

Lily watched it go and then turned to face the remaining wolf. There was a gash along its muzzle and blood matting its fur.

‘Please tell me you didn’t fight them off so you can kill me yourself,’ Lily said. ‘Because that would be a really shitty thing to do.’

The wolf took a step forward and Lily took a step back.

‘If it’s just you alone I could kill you easily. I don’t want to, but don’t underestimate my survival instinct.’

The wolf took another step closer.

‘Do you even understand me?’ Lily asked. ‘Do werewolves understand English when they’re wolves? How about Mandarin?’

The wolf took another step closer. Lily backed up another few steps and her back hit a tree trunk. She winced at the impact against her healing wounds. Her fangs snapped out.

The wolf stopped.

‘Damn right,’ Lily said.

The wolf lowered its head and took one corner of Lily’s discarded red cloak in its mouth. Then it held it up as if it were offering it to her.

Lily stared at it.

The wolf made a low whining sound, as if it were trying to assure her it meant no harm.

Lily took a step towards it and then crouched down and gently took the cloak. The wolf let go of it willingly. Then it retreated a few metres, picked up her wicker basket and brought this to her too. Lily took it the handle out of the wolf’s jaw. She lifted up the lid and peered inside. She felt momentary relief that she had opted for plastic bottles and not glass. None of the blood had been spilled.

She looked at the wolf again. It stood before her, watching her with its head cocked slightly to the side, as if it were asking her a question.

‘I’m okay,’ Lily said.

The wolf turned and began to walk away.

‘Wait!’ Lily called after it.

The wolf stopped again and looked back over its shoulder at her. She realised it was waiting for her. She hastily threw her cloak over her shoulders, fastened it, placed the basket in the crook of her arm, and then started after the wolf. Her ankle had healed down, but there was a flash of pain up her back with each footstep.

The wolf stayed a few paces ahead of her, occasionally glancing back to make sure she was still following.

_I must be mad_ , Lily thought. _Following a wolf through the trees when I’m already lost. How do I know it’s actually trying to help me? How do I know it’s not leading me straight back to the pack?_

She thought briefly of attacking the wolf – leaping on it and snapping its neck before it knew what was happening – but she thought about the way it had looked at her after fighting off the others. The way it had returned her belongings to her. She knew it wasn’t a threat to her.

Together they wound their way between trees and through underbrush. There were no signs of other wolves. The pain in Lily’s back gradually faded as the wounds healed. There was nothing to be done about the shredded back of her dress though. She was filthy too. Mud and crumbled dead leaves coated her arms and legs and was splattered across her cheeks. She pulled her hair over her shoulder and found it clumped together with dirt. She grimaced and tossed it back over her shoulder again. Her red cloak was almost black with filth.

She began to see stars through the canopy and realised they were reaching the edge of the forest. The wolf had led her out.

* * *

The full moon waned.

Lily made her way through the trees, picking her way by following the wolf’s tracks. The scent had faded over the past few days, but it was still strong enough to detect.

It was easier to move without the basket getting in her way, but she occasionally had to lift the hem of her cloak up as she stepped over tree roots. She didn’t want to fall again.

She wasn’t sure why she was going. She didn’t think anything was going to happen. But she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the werewolf. Werewolves didn’t save vampires. They didn’t. And the full moon was the only time the wolves were almost guaranteed a chance at killing a vampire. It made them stronger, it sharpened their senses, it overrode any humanity they might have felt. They couldn’t control themselves. So why would a werewolf save her?

She could smell old blood now. Werewolf blood and vampire blood.

The saw a figure through the trees and froze. It was sitting on the ground, but got to its feet as soon as Lily saw it. There was nothing defensive about its posture. Its hands hung by its sides, it appeared to be unarmed, and though Lily could smell adrenaline she didn’t sense any danger.

‘It’s okay,’ the figure said. A girl’s voice. ‘I’m not going to hurt you. You could probably kill me if I tried, anyway. I’m not going to underestimate your survival instinct.’

Lily stepped through the trees and lowered her hood. The other girl took a step closer so they could see each other properly.

The girl was several inches shorter than Lily. She had dark skin and thick, black hair. There was a small scattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks. She was dressed absurdly ordinarily, in a hoodie and jeans with sneakers. But there was a long cut down her left cheek. It looked maybe a week old, but Lily knew that was just the werewolves’ advanced healing rate. Slower than a vampire’s, but faster than a mundane’s. She remembered the gash on the werewolf’s muzzle.

‘It was you,’ Lily said. ‘You saved me.’

‘I didn’t really think you’d come back,’ the girl back. ‘But I wanted to check.’

‘Why?’

The girl shrugged. ‘Why did you come back?’

‘I wanted to know what kind of werewolf helps vampires.’

‘One who thinks the feud between vampires and werewolves is ridiculous,’ the girl said. ‘My best friend is a vampire. If I can stop any more deaths because of a pointless enmity we barely even understand then I will.’

‘That’s a fight you’re going to lose.’

‘You’re alive, aren’t you?’ the girl said. ‘It’s enough.’

‘Who are you?’

‘My name’s Maia.’

‘Lily.’

‘You washed your cloak,’ Maia said.

Lily looked down at the red cloak, instinctively wrapping it a little closer around herself.

‘I was hoping you’d come back,’ Maia said. ‘And I saw the red through the trees. You know you stand out a mile off wearing that?’

‘Why were you hoping I’d come back?’

‘You’re very suspicious aren’t you?’

‘Even more so when you keep refusing to answer,’ Lily said, raising an eyebrow.

Maia laughed. It sounded like a nervous laugh. She took a step closer to Lily. ‘Do you have a problem with werewolves?’

‘I leave them alone if they leave me alone.’

‘Good enough,’ Maia said. ‘This is why I hoped you’d come back.’ She stood up on tip-toe and pressed her lips lightly against Lily’s cheek.


End file.
